The Fleece Project: The Study

[jackrussellgirl]

Great Post!!! I just wish it was around when I started with my fleece!

[piggly wiggly]

Naomi
You need something under the fleece to absorb the urine, like layers of towels. Then you tuck the fleece under the towels. I also put a haybin on one edge, a brick under the water bottle on another side, and a litter box on a 3rd side. This way most edges are held down aswell. Hope this helps a bit.

[Naomi]

thanks piggly that helps a lot I think I am going to give it a try. I saw fleece blankets at the local dollar store they were only $5. I have an abundance of old towels around to put under it.

[Naomi]

I went out and bought 2 fleece blankets for 4.95 each today. they aren't very thick will they work? I have lots of towels for underneath but I wasn't sure if the lighter quality will work. They are big enough I can double them over if needed

[cavy-cool-crazy]

The fleeces don't need to be thick Naomi. I have towels and fleece sewn together - one layer of fleece to one layer of towel. The fleece isn't any more than 1 or 2 millimetres thick. It lasts around 4 days, with four pigs living on it for around 21 hours a day. As long as you have the towel to actually absorb what is wicked through, it will last quite a bit longer.

[Naomi]

Thanks this stuff I can almost see through it is so light. I will be using it on the 2nd story once I build it and if I like it will use it in the whole cage.

[cavy-cool-crazy]

If you are unsure, try the single layer of fleece first. Then try the double layer after the first cage clean. It's hard to say which will work better without actually trying it out!

[piggiebun]

What a great post. Thanks for all the info. Can't wait to get the fleece now!

[tattooyu]

Great thread!

I told my wife about not using the fabric softener (we use unscented for babies).

She said that the one time she didn't use it, the fleece was horribly full of static and is afraid of the piggies getting shocked (metal grids). We are in L.A., so there is low humidity mostly. How would you prevent static when not using softener?

Thanks.

[weta!]

Originally Posted by tattooyu

Great thread!

I told my wife about not using the fabric softener (we use unscented for babies).

She said that the one time she didn't use it, the fleece was horribly full of static and is afraid of the piggies getting shocked (metal grids). We are in L.A., so there is low humidity mostly. How would you prevent static when not using softener?

Thanks.

Air dry it.

[tattooyu]

My wife and I went to another vet (Dr. Ridgeway in Long Beach, CA) for a second opinion on our pig Jackson; I will post about that seperately. While we were there, we asked him about the use of non-perfumed or unscented fabric softener. He felt as if there was no issue using such softener.

[fairysari]

The issue with softener isn't so much that it affects the pigs, but that the softener makes a sort of barrier on the fleece, so that it is not as good at wicking the moisture down below. If your fleece has been working just fine, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you notice any pooling of liquid on top of the fleece, then you might want to consider not using the fabric softener.

[dagwellismypigy]

Try using unscented dryer sheets instead. It should control the static, but not mess with the fleece too much.

[Slave to the Wheek]

Using any kind of product that adheres to the fabric reduces it's ability to wick moisture, including fabric sheets. In addition, over time fleece can get a detergent build-up which also reduces absorbancy. Fleece diapers are often known to do this and it simply means that once one notices that the fleece isn't as fluffy as it once was you simply need to run it through a second HOT wash cycle with nothing in the wash except maybe some vinegar. Old fleece comes out like new once you've done this.

There are several issues I feel that softeners present. Putting my pig onto a fabric that has been coated with a perfume, as well as a softening agent means that their feet and sinus' are exposed to a build up of softener, detergent and perfumes over time. In addition they are breathing in these chemicals. Imagine walking barefoot on such fabric all day every day and imagine what that could mean over a long period of time. Your body would absorb all those chemicals through your skin and if your face was knee high, you'd be breathing it in too. I think it's not safe over the long term to use fleece if you fill it with "product".

I don't use softener of any kind, and I just ignore that static after it comes out of the dryer. Once I'ved folded it there is no static charge left in it. Besides, if you are putting your fleece on coroplast..I can't see how anyone could ever get shocked anyway.

I also recommend using lowest amount of perfume free detergent with a spash of bleach at every wash. Fleece does not bleach out unless you pour the bleach directly onto it, and the bleach works fabulous at removing the odor. I also suggest using an extra rinse cycle if you have that option. The less product on the fleece, the better it works, the healthier for your pigs.

[SoCalCavies]

Cavy-Cool-Crazy,

What a fantastic, informative message! THANK YOU so much for all the information on fleece. You answered every question I had, except for one:

I bought my first 3 yards of fleece at a nearby fabric store. It was so cheap - only $7.50 per yard with a 20% discount for a sale they were running at the time. It wasn't polar fleece that I bought; it was some kind of "lighter" fleece on 1 side with terrycloth on the other. My question is - is that going to be ok? It's sooo soft.

Thank you again for your post. Just fantastic!

[zambonigirl]

Originally Posted by Slave to the Wheek

I also recommend using lowest amount of perfume free detergent with a spash of bleach at every wash. Fleece does not bleach out unless you pour the bleach directly onto it, and the bleach works fabulous at removing the odor. I also suggest using an extra rinse cycle if you have that option. The less product on the fleece, the better it works, the healthier for your pigs.

Just to add onto this very helpful post: I've been putting a splash of vinegar into the last rinse cycle, and I find that it kills the odors very well. I also time my piggy washing with my regular linen washing, so that I've got several loads of hot-water wash between smelly piggy bedding and underwear. It probably does absolutely nothing for anything other than my own state of mind, but I'm okay with that.

[pigwhisperer]

I was wondering if it would be possible to sew the two layers of polar fleece together and then stitch the towels to the underneath, and have as just one large blanket? Or would it be to heavy and messy?

[cavy-cool-crazy]

You can sew it all together, yes. I have done this with one set of my own fleece and it is so, so much easier and quicker to fit it in the cage, vacuum it (it doesn't get sucked up the vacuum so easily), and prepare the fleece for the wash. It takes longer to dry as the towel is attached to the fleece, but I definitely recommend sewing fleece and towels together if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm glad the post has been of help to so many. I know it isn't totally, 100% complete, but I know some kind of guide to using fleece, however simple, is what I could have done with when I first started using fleece!

[pigwhisperer]

We are getting our pigs next weekend, we had a pig in the past an the shavings were so messy so I want something simpler, I am so glad that I found your thread and this site is wonderful. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

[jdomans]

I was wondering if it would be possible to sew the two layers of polar fleece together

You do not use 2 layers of fleece. Fleece wicks the moisture away and you want something absorbent under it.